Our Risk Management Students: 'These Guys Are Good'

Butler's Risk Management students place third in national competition.

As consolation prizes go, this one was pretty great.

Matt Pauszek, Melissa Lakin, Erin Bundy, and Jake Doman.

A Butler team of seniors Jake Doman (from Chicago) and Melissa Lakin (Westfield, Indiana) and juniors Matt Pauszek (Indianapolis) and Erin Bundy (Knightstown, Indiana) has just finished competing in the Spencer-RIMS Risk Management Challenge on April 11 in San Diego. They went head-to-head against teams from seven other schools—all assigned to analyze a case study involving Lego—and finished third.

The students were a little disappointed. But afterward, Hans Læssøe, the Risk Manager for Denmark-based Lego, showed them what he had written during their presentation: These guys are good.

“That was an honor in itself,” Bundy said.

“It validates everything you’re doing,” Doman added. “If the Risk Manager at Lego thinks we did an all-right job, we probably did an all-right job.”

To make it as far as they did was impressive. Third place is the best result yet for a Butler team in this competition, and particularly remarkable for a program that’s only in its fourth year.

The Butler team, mentored by Zach Finn, Clinical Professor & Director of the Davey Risk Management and Insurance Program in the College of Business, started in the fall by writing a two-page essay that got them into the competition against 20 other schools. After that, all the teams were assigned to analyze the risk and opportunity that could affect the growth of Lego, which has grown at an annual rate of 16 percent, even during the Great Recession.

Eight teams were chosen to compete in San Diego, where they each gave 20-minute presentations before a panel of judges. Three made it to the finals.

“We were competing against the top programs in the nation and programs that have been around for so much longer than Butler’s,” Pauszek said. “As a program in its fourth year with a max of 40 students or so, we were pretty pleased with how we fared.”

Butler’s representatives, all Risk Management/Finance double-majors, said their experience gave them the opportunity to network with professionals at the conference and cemented their appreciation for risk management.

Pauszek, Lakin, Bundy, Doman, and faculty mentor Zach Finn.

“For me,” Bundy said, “risk management is a different task every day you’re faced with and it’s problem solving, which is fun, in a sense. You also get to help protect people at the same time.”

“I’m a numbers guy, so I love finance,” Doman said. “But risk management allows you to go a lot deeper into those numbers and explain why things are occurring. That’s why I find it interesting.”

The 2017 competition is in Philadelphia, the home of Temple University, which beat Butler and Florida State in this year’s finals. Butler will be back.

“Given that this year's challenge felt like the Rocky sequel Creed, where the protagonist boxer loses the title but wins the crowd's hearts, it's a fitting locale and perfect setup for our return next year,” Finn said.

The students feel the same way.

“Erin and I are juniors,” Pauszek said, “so we’re hoping next year we come back with a vengeance and hopefully get first place next year. That’s the goal.”

Media contact:
Marc Allan
mallan@butler.edu
317-940-9822

Our Risk Management Students: 'These Guys Are Good'

Butler Students, Alumni Win 'Best in Indiana Journalism' Awards

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PUBLISHED ON Apr 27 2015

Student journalists from The Butler Collegian and IndianapolisNewsBeat.com received nine "Best in Indiana Journalism" awards from the Indiana Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists Friday evening.

Former Collegian editor-in-chief Ben Sieck, a senior, won first place for student sports reporting. His story, "Defining a champion: The factors of Indiana high school athletic succes," examined how the Indiana High School Athletic Association tries to balance competitiveness at Indiana's public and private high schools. The story was published on IndianapolisNewsBeat.com as part of his coursework for JR312 Multimedia Journalism II.

Sieck and former Collegian co-editor-in-chief Mallory Duncan, also a senior, won first place for spot news reporting for their story, "Former Butler student killed by ISIS." The breaking news story first reported online the unconfirmed death of Abdul-Rahman Kassig, an American aid worker in Syria who was a political science major known as Peter Kassig during his time at Butler. The updated online story reported confirmation of his death, as well as comments from Butler President James Danko, Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence. A print story contained a poignant interview with political science department chair Siobhan McEvoy-Levy.

Cartoonist Audrey Meyer, a junior, won first place for student editorial cartoon for her representation of fear surrounding Ebola.

Editor-in-chief Julian Wyllie, a junior, won second place for student editorial writing for "A Cloud of Doubt," and third place for student column writing for three columns.

Former editor-in-chief Marais Jacon-Duffy '14 also received a second place for student non-deadline news reporting, for her story "Classification concerns."

Next year's editor-in-chief Matthew VanTryon, a sophomore, won third place for student investigative reporting for "Former players allege verbal abuse, mistreatment," and also third place for student feature story, "Former player Smith diagnosed with cancer."

Former Collegian editor-in-chief Colin Likas '14 won third place for student graphics for "Sex crimes reported by BUPD since 2011."

And former Collegian editor-in-chief Hayleigh Colombo '12 won second place for education reporting for professional work at Chalkbeat Indiana, a nonprofit online news organization that focuses on issues surrounding education and education reform.

The annual "Best in Indiana Journalism" event honored excellence by professional and student news organizations from around the state for their work from 2014.

Hahn, Pingel Named Most Outstanding Students

BY

PUBLISHED ON Apr 28 2016

Rachel Hahn ’16, a Spanish and Communication Sciences and Disorders double-major from Zionsville, Indiana, and Chad Pingel ’16, a Finance and Marketing double-major from Des Moines, Iowa, have been selected as Butler University’s Most Outstanding Female and Male students, respectively.

Hahn has a 4.0 grade-point average and achieved seven different academic honors, including being named the Top Student in Communication Sciences and Disorders in 2013, 2014, and 2015. Her activities include participation in Student Government Association (SGA), Fall Alternative Break, and three years as a Resident Assistant. Twice, she was named Most Outstanding Resident Assistant.

Hahn also was selected as Butler’s student Woman of Distinction for 2016.

After graduation, Hahn plans to pursue a Master’s in Speech Language Pathology at Purdue University.

“Rachel is that rare student who seems to be the complete package of what we seek as the ideal student to enter our field and certainly to represent Butler University,” Ann Bilodeau, Clinical Faculty, Director of the Butler Speech and Language Clinic Communication Sciences and Disorders, wrote in recommending Hahn. “I have watched with joy as she continues to grow in her skills each semester and continue to be impressed by her maturity in decision making and her sincere dedication to her own educational development.”

Pingel finishes his Butler career with a 3.92 grade-point average. He earned more than a dozen academic honors, including multiple academic scholarships. He served as President of SGA in 2014-2015, was Director of Academic Affairs for SGA’s Student Initiatives Board, and has worked in the Office of Admissions since 2013. He is an active member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity.

“Chad utilized a calm, quiet, and collaborative approach to increase campus awareness of Student Government Association, to focus on areas critical to student retention, including awareness and appreciation of diversity, and to develop an organizational commitment to service and volunteerism,” Vice President for Student Affairs Levester Johnson wrote in his recommendation letter.

After graduation, Pingel will work for Google. He will work in People Operations on data analytics, recruiting, and learning & development.

The Outstanding Student Recognition Program seeks those who give unselfishly of themselves, who are highly regarded by the entire university community, and who, as future alumni, may take satisfaction in their contribution and service to Butler University. Some of the criteria that are evaluated include outstanding character, scholarship, engaged citizenship, leadership, and commitment to fostering diversity.

Pharmacy Student Gives a Shot in the Arm to Vaccination Education

BY Sarvary Koller '15

PUBLISHED ON Nov 05 2014

Matthew Budi ’15 wants people to know the truth about vaccines, and he is conducting his senior thesis project through the Butler University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences to educate Indianapolis residents and contribute to research on vaccination.

Budi, a sixth-year Pharmacy student in the Butler Honors program, released an informational video and an accompanying survey on vaccines last weekend to begin collecting data on vaccination trends in the greater Indianapolis area. The survey will remain live through January 15, and any adult living within 50 miles of Indianapolis is eligible to take the survey.

Budi said he believes it is imperative that people understand and acknowledge the importance of vaccines to health. Whether dissuaded by common myths about vaccinations or the fear of being poked in the arm with a needle, he encourages all to partake in his study to learn the facts about vaccination.

“Forget Ebola for a second—that’s only a few cases in the country,” Budi said. “These diseases have hundreds to thousands of people who get it every year just because they don’t want to receive a vaccine. It’s so much worse than Ebola because it’s something we can easily fix.”

The YouTube video, featuring Budi in a white lab coat, provides participants with an introduction to vaccination before taking the survey. The vaccines included in the survey are flu, shingles, and pneumonia, as well as tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis, and a measles, mumps, and rubella.

“I picked these vaccines in particular because they have a high health burden,” Budi said. “They cost the health care system money on an annual basis, and since they are preventable diseases through vaccination, we can do a lot to improve public health just through education.”

Chad Knoderer, Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice and Director for Clinical and Health Outcomes Research, assisted Budi to fine-tune his survey. He said the survey Budi created is especially tough to conceptualize because it tests for trends in general while creating an educational tool that fits seamlessly into the survey.

Budi will analyze survey data in January when the study closes to prepare a presentation for the Butler Undergraduate Research Conference in April. All senior Pharmacy students must present a project at the conference, and Budi will present alone as a requirement of completing the Honors program.

Knoderer said he has high hopes for the study results and its impact on education and relationships with pharmacists in the greater Indianapolis community.

“It’s significant from a public health perspective—immunization and vaccination is an important topic for promoting health in terms of the individual and also the community,” he said. “This project gets at that. It gets at how a pharmacist can participate in the care of patients.”

Budi said he has several goals in this study: to educate; to earn recognition for the Butler Pharmacy program; and to give the study utility so other people can use it as a model.

“Pharmacists are very accessible,” Budi said. “We [Butler University] are the only Pharmacy school close to downtown Indianapolis, so I figured, let’s test what people think of vaccines here in our city. Not only that, but I’ve always loved education—teaching people and imparting knowledge.”